Cranberry Slough Saturday February 10Every few years we get a big snow event on or around one of Joe's workdays. What to do? If the parking lot is cleared (thank you, FPCC Maintenance crew) then it's easy - we go.

Three sleds loaded with equipment, three sled-pullers breaking trail for the rest of the team. It was a somewhat arduous walk to the work site, and it was sometimes challenging hauling through the snow, but it didn't stop us from burning three large piles within a shout of the multi-use trail. Our thanks to Lucy from Brookfield Woods, first-time Palos volunteer.

Much of my time in the past week was spent trekking around the Swallow Cliff/McClaughrey Springs area, my favorite of all our preserves and the closest to home. Snowshoes, X-C skis, plain old hiking boots, all brought bliss to my snow-loving soul. Most of the pictures below came from those treks.

McClaughrey Springs Woods Saturday February 3Our thanks to first-time volunteer Al and to Piotr and Rafal, brothers from Oak Lawn who join us periodically. We were along both sides of the connector trail that comes out of Forty Acres Woods, thinning trees and burning six brush piles.

The topography here is as spectacular as anywhere in Palos and stands in sharp contrast to most of Illinois. It's no wonder hikers and sightseers from all around the county come here to visit.

Saturday was the last day on the Friends of the Forest Preserves Palos crew for Greg Russ. Greg started volunteering with us last year and began work with the FOTFP crew last fall. He found a position in bird rehabilitation in northern Wisconsin. We wish him success and fulfillment in his new endeavor!

Cap Sauers Holding Sunday February 4Light snow falling in the afternoon made Cap even prettier, and it surely didn't stop Patrick's bowsaw assault on honeysuckle. Up on the hillside, above the trail and wetland, we had a terrific view of the landscape in three directions (we're working on opening up the view in the fourth).

We were few in number, probably more due to weather and road conditions than to some football game rumored to occur later in the day. We still got a lot of brush cleared and had a good fire to take the edge off the chill.

Paw Paw Woods Saturday January 27Since we were thinning on the sides of a ravine, Joe located his brush piles at the bottom of that ravine. Later in the day, viewed from the south, the multiple brush piles appeared to merge into one continuous line. Very cool.

We accomplished much on this Saturday. The sunlight reaching the slopes as a result of our efforts will, we hope, encourage growth of native plants and prevent erosion. The wonderfully sculpted landscape is one of the features making our Palos preserves so special, and we strive to protect those features.

Swallow Cliff Sunday January 28Bowsaw warriors with a small side of mushroom madness: we had 16 volunteers and they all brought their "A" game. When we started at this site less than a year ago, one of our goals was to reach the marsh at the bottom of the hill. A long-term goal at the time, but one that looked more achievable as the months passed.

Getting there still meant tackling some prodigious honeysuckles, and our group was up to the challenge. To paraphrase an old song lyric 'they cut and they burned, and they burned and they cut', and eventually broke through. No champagne toasts, a good feeling just the same. Thanks to first-timers Ed, Jing, Eddie, Gian Luca, and Leo, almost-newbies Laurel and Brendan, and to everyone else who participated.

We also encountered some lovely fungi, pictured below.

Super Blue Blood Moon January 30Many years ago a close friend went to Hawaii and camped on a lava field in hopes of seeing a total solar eclipse. Heavy cloud cover effectively obscured his view of the sun.

I traveled just five miles to Saganashkee Slough for Wednesday morning's lunar eclipse and had a clear view of the moon until it was roughly half-covered by earth's shadow. That's when clouds got in the way and I had just a couple glimpses of the 'blood' moon before sunrise drew near and the show was over.

Complaining? Oh no! Fortunate to be there, to be a breathing, sentient being on that day.

Paddock Woods Saturday January 20Large group of energetic, robust volunteers for this one! We spanned both sides of the trail in the southeast corner of Paddock, thinning trees and burning a total of six fires during the day.

Good bunch of fire-starters too - a malfunction in the propane tank was no obstacle to this group. The area looks good and will look even better come spring and the emergence of all things green.

Swallow Cliff Sunday January 21Speaking of fire-starting, 95% humidity and a barely-legal 5 mph wind didn't keep Jackie from quickly getting a fire going. In December volunteers opened a corridor going down the slope - this time they made a large clearing tackling numerous patches of multi-flora rose along with honeysuckle and barberry.

Black Partridge Sunday January 21John brush-cut a large area while Pat did his usual bowsaw assault on brush and Kathy herbicided behind them. We're nearing the time when the brushy outbreak at this end of Partridge will be no more.

Willow Springs Woods Saturday January 13Another party at Willow West, with big fires to take the edge off the morning chill. It's remarkable how quickly you get warm once you start moving; it's only when you stop for a break, or on the slow walk out, away from the fires, that you are reminded of the cold.

We stayed mostly on high ground, above a couple crisscrossing ravines, in that netherland that feels like the middle of nowhere 'til you see a flash of reflected light from a car passing on the not-so-distant road. Beautiful place, fantastic people doing great things!

Hidden Pond Woods Sunday January 14We removed honeysuckle and multiflora rose from the SW edge of the prairie. Forest Preserves of Cook County has installed a bench at this spot honoring the contributions of long-time Hidden Pond steward, and Palos regional steward, Roger Keller. Come spring we will partner with FPCC for a dedication of the bench.

Thanks to (almost) first-time volunteers Josh and Emma, to Jim from Thatcher Woods, to Jean and Mary, Kathy, Chris and Michelle for a good and enjoyable morning.

Cap Sauers Moraines Saturday January 6Much thanks to Carolyn Faber for getting things started, also for working with new volunteers Alia, Morgan, Anthony, and Alex from Benet Academy in Lisle, and Bobby from the U.S. Navy. They were a great group, started and managed one of our five fires.

We had chain sawyers from Atrium Landscape, whose services are donated for the next nine weeks by volunteer Kathy Bruch, helping thin trees, and the Palos Friends of the Forest Preserves crew bringing their usual strength and youth to the task. We also had our usual core group working hard and gettin' it done. Steward Margaret Tobin managed a mid-morning visit - I suspect by next week she'll be firing on all cylinders again.

All that effort will make a big difference come growing season, bringing more sunlight to the ground and spurring growth of native plants.

McClaughrey Springs Sunday January 7This was something of a bonus day, since in past years we haven't worked our Sunday sites in January and February. It was another good one, with about a dozen volunteers, including first-timers Paul, Desiree, and Niaisha.

We were directly across Mill Creek from the parking lot, in a sensitive area where the burgeoning honeysuckle population could only be attacked on frozen ground. Well, we surely had that - morning temps were quite nippy though it moderated as the day went on.

We eliminated numerous honeysuckles, including some big ones, 3-4" diameter or more at the stump. At one point volunteers were dragging cut brush along the frozen surface of Mill Creek, a cool sight to behold! Steve Krupa, still battling the flu, was out for the third day in a row. Trooper!

Road TripTuesday I ventured to the other side of I-55, to Sundown Meadow, where Dennis Kankowske has been leading Tuesday sessions to augment the monthly Saturdays. The land of buckthorn; you still find honeysuckle but the buckies are so much more numerous than in Palos. Luckily, they burn just as well.

Cold SpellWe lost a couple days to the bitter cold. The coming week temps will moderate just a bit, hoping it will be more tolerable. Tip of the hat to the Saturday crew at Willow Springs, Sunday at Paddock, for getting at it despite tough conditions.

Motto: Once the fire starts all is good.

Saturday December 30, Willow Springs WoodsAn unofficial trail runs from Spears Woods on the east, at the Old Country Lane, heading west and skirting a residential area before arriving at the Willow Springs picnic grove. Walking this trail you pass through thickets of honeysuckle. Carolyn has started clearing brush in this section and we've now come twice, as a group, to help.

On this cold day they built a fire atop the ridge and dragged brush up the slope to the fire. Due to another commitment I didn't arrive until noon, in time to take a few pictures and enjoy the fire. They did great, burning a lot of brush from the previous workday as well as everything they cut that morning.

Lots of activity in Palos in the next few days, a good chance to field-test all the cold weather gear Santa brought.

Willow Springs Woods Saturday December 23Photographer Mike McDonald talks and writes about the 'Wilds of Chicago'. Walking into Willow West you get a feel for that. No marked trails, numerous high ridges and deep ravines, such a pretty place!

After a couple hitches with equipment, we got rolling, got a fire built, and started loading it. The FOTFP crew and Steve on chainsaws, Doug on brushcutter, the rest of us hauling and hacking, we worked along the bottom of a deep ravine.

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday December 24Snow began falling around 7 am and by 9:00 the ground had a light coating. A lovely setting for a pre-holiday workout.

It got better when we walked the short distance from parking lot to work site and were greeted by a hot fire, compliments of Srdjan. No cold-finger anxiety, just jump in and work. We pushed farther down the slope to the north, while Karen distributed seed throughout the work area.

Thanks to Jackie, Srdjan, Tom, Max, Karen, Mike, Joe, Tom, and Omar for spending part of their Christmas Eve in Palos!

Paddock Woods Wednesday December 27I didn't work this one, came out late on a hike to see these five bad@$$es working near the Montessori school on 119th Street. Probably the coldest morning of the season to date and they weren't fazed by it. Great job Bob, Gerri, Diane, Greg, and Michelle.

Paddock Woods Saturday December 16We had a mild, lovely morning with lots of foot traffic through the preserve (human and equine - see photos). With three sawyers and a group of willing haulers, four big fires were burning, two on either side of the trail.

This work is a foreshadowing of the 'big' play dates we have coming in January and February all around Palos.

Swallow Cliff Woods South Sunday December 17We continue to push the wall of honeysuckle farther to the north, working our way down the hill towards the marshy patch. In addition to cutting brush we spread several bags of the seed collected back in September.

We'll be back on Christmas Eve morning to resume our relentless push. Join us if you can.

Black Partridge Woods Sunday December 17We had a busload of students brought out by ICO from two city schools, Farragut High and Latino Youth High. What a great crew this was! They listened to our talk, picked up their tools, and cleared a large chunk of the sector we've been working on in the past year.

Thank you Katty Regalado and Sierra Club's ICO (Inspiring Connections Outdoors) for a most enjoyable and productive afternoon!

With an inch of new snow on the ground, we weren't sure whether we could use the parking lot at Willow Springs picnic grove. Joe and some of the Friends of the Forest Preserve crew cleared snow going uphill to the grove, and we were good to go.

Great to see Brad Marciniec back from his Redwood National Park adventure. We had three groups working; the FOTFP crew at one site, Steve, Joe, and a couple others at another, and the bulk of the group around a heinously nasty patch of multi-flora rose. Diana brush-cut while we dragged, burned, and cursed the thorns.

The early morning chill was forgotten once we started working and got the fires going, and we very much enjoyed being outdoors after the early-season snowfall.

Hidden Pond Sunday December 10

In November we left a lot of honeysuckle on the ground, on a day when impending rain kept us from starting a fire. This time conditions were better and we got rid of all of it, plus a whole lot more, in two brush piles just a stones throw from the parking lot.

Great group, great job! In January we expect to be out near the prairie again.